Secretary-General Appoints High-Level Panel on Global Response to Health Crises

United Nations
April 02, 2015

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of a High-level Panel on the Global Response to Health Crises.

The Secretary-General has appointed Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, as Chair. A full list of Panel members appears below. The Secretary-General has asked the Panel to make recommendations to strengthen national and international systems to prevent and manage future health crises, taking into account lessons learned from the response to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease.

In carrying out its work, the Panel will undertake a wide range of consultations, including with representatives from the affected countries and communities, the United Nations system, multilateral and bilateral financial institutions and regional development banks, non-governmental organizations, countries supporting the response effort, other Member States, health-care providers, academic and research institutions, the private sector and other experts. The Panel will be supported by a Resource Group of leading experts which is to provide advice to the Panel on technical and other issues.

The Panel will hold its first meeting in early May 2015 and is expected to submit its final report to the Secretary-General at the end of December 2015. The Secretary-General will make the report available to the General Assembly and undertake further action as appropriate.

Panel Members

Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (United Republic of Tanzania) was elected as Fourth President of the United Republic of Tanzania in December 2005, and was re-elected for a second term in October 2010. He was first appointed in 1988 to the Cabinet, where he held several ministerial portfolios, including Minister for Finance, Minister for Water, Energy and Mineral Resources and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (1995-2005). He served as the Chairperson of the African Union (2008–2009) and the Chairman of the Southern African Development Community Troika on Politics, Defence and Security (2012–2013). He is the current Chair of the Summit of East African Community Heads of State.

Celso Amorim (Brazil) served as Minister of Foreign Relations (1993-1994 and 2003-2010), and as Minister of Defence (2011-2014). Prior to that, he served as the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations in Geneva (1991-1993) and the World Trade Organization (1999-2001), as the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations in New York (1995-1999) and as Ambassador to the United Kingdom (2002). He was also Chief Executive Officer of the Brazilian Film Corporation (Embrafilme) from 1979 to 1982 and served as Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Technology (1985-1988). He is the author of several books and other publications on Culture, Science and Technology Policy and International Relations. His latest book is entitled Teerã, Ramalá e Doha (2015).

Micheline Calmy-Rey (Switzerland) assumed the office of President of the Geneva Cantonal Government (2001-2002) before being elected to the Swiss Federal Council in December 2002, heading the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2011. In 2007 and in 2011, she served two 1-year terms as President of the Swiss Confederation. In May 2012, she was nominated Visiting Professor at the University of Geneva.

Marty Natalegawa (Indonesia) served as Foreign Minister of the Republic of Indonesia (2009-2014), prior to which he served as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations in New York (2007-2009). From 2005 to 2007, he served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Kingdom. He began his career with the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia in 1986.

Joy Phumaphi (Botswana) is the Executive Secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance. She served as Member of Parliament, holding portfolio responsibility in the cabinet, first for Lands and Housing (1995-1999) and then for Health (1999-2003). She later joined the World Health Organization as Assistant Director General for Family and Community Health (2003-2007). She has served as Vice-President for Human Development at the World Bank (2007-2009). She has also served on a number of commissions and expert groups and sits on the Board of several international non-profit organizations working on global health.

Rajiv Shah (United States) served as Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010 - 2015), advancing its mission of ending extreme poverty and promoting resilient, democratic societies. He pioneered new public-private partnerships and catalysed scientific innovation, enlisting the private sector and bipartisan Congressional leaders to join in the cause. He also led the United States Government’s humanitarian response to catastrophic crises around the world, including the Haiti earthquake, Typhoon Haiyan and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

Previously, Mr. Shah served as Under-Secretary and Chief Scientist in the United States Department of Agriculture. Prior to that, he spent eight years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, starting at its inception and leading efforts in global health, agriculture and financial services.